Sathyamangalam tiger poaching sentence 2025
The Sathyamangalam tiger poaching sentence 2025 shows how weak India’s justice system remains when it comes to protecting wildlife. A Tamil Nadu court sentenced six persons, including three women, to just three years’ imprisonment for killing a tiger. The case, from 2023, was cracked by a covert operation involving the Tamil Nadu Forest and Wildlife Crime Control Bureau, Wildlife SOS, and state police.
Investigators infiltrated the Bawaria gang from Haryana, tracked their movements, and intercepted them with a 10-foot tiger skin, a tiger skeleton, a leopard skeleton, and an arsenal of snares, knives, and jaw traps in the Nilgiris Biosphere Reserve. Wildlife SOS described the conviction as a landmark, proving that coordinated intelligence and infiltration can bring traffickers to justice. Yet the punishment — only three years — is minimal compared to the crime. The convicted must have been laughing in court.
India’s Wildlife Act allows up to seven years, but it never happens. Judges stay weak, hesitant, or maybe even compromised. For deeper analysis, see our cornerstone on political failure.
Based on Hindustan Times, India.
Photo via Chat GPT (AI-generated).
